


Ghost Girl

by Amaranthyn



Category: Corpse Party (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Death, Evil Ghost, Evil Ghost Children, F/M, Gen, Ghosts, Haunted School, Horror, Japanese Honorifics Used, Minor Character Deaths, Minor Injuries, Not for the faint of heart, School, Serious Injuries, Skeletons, dead bodies, ghost children, major character deaths, time loops, will add more tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-07
Packaged: 2018-12-10 10:50:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11690085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amaranthyn/pseuds/Amaranthyn
Summary: Minoto Aika. Class 1-2. Byakudan Senior High School.It seemed redundant, now that I think about it, that I could see ghosts in a haunted school. I mean sure, it could be helpful... But now almost everyone with me could see them to a certain extent as well, making my "gift" even more useless than it already was.But I guess that isn't all that important... What I should be focused on is how I got here, and why. What secrets did this decrepit school hold that were waiting to be found out? Why was I brought here against my will? Is... is there even a way out?Why were there children spirits haunting this school to begin with? Why is it an elementary school at all? What key did they hold that they must wander the halls aimlessly, looking for their next victim to "chhlme pway whiff" them...? Is the girl in the tattered red dress behind all of this?... And why is Shimada-senpai so adamant about staying with me when he made it clear that he wasn't interested in me at all?(Originally posted on Fanfiction.net)





	1. Chapter 1

_When I woke up, I was cold. There was a calming numbness surrounding me which didn't scare me as much as it probably should have. I didn’t really care all too much… I was just drifting in my own universe._

"... Is she... dead...?"

_I had no recollection of where I was... I tried to rack my brain for any memory of where I was but nothing came up. My mind drew a major blank which left me wondering exactly what was going on. Should I be scared?_

"No, she's alive. She's still breathing."

_There were voices... they sounded familiar... I was scared. I definitely wasn't at home anymore. Was I still in school? Did I take a nap? It seemed plausible but unlikely... Nobody spoke to me at school. Why can’t I remember where I am?_

"Then why the fuck won't she wake up? We're wasting time. We don’t need to pick up everyone we pass…”

I didn't want to wake up... I was content not knowing where I was or who I was with. I liked this cold numbness… It made me forget all the horrors I had to face in everyday life. I almost felt... normal. Was that weird? … it probably was.

"Shimada-san! Don't say things like that! We have to stick together in a place like this…"

Shimada-san... that surname sounds familiar. Did I know it? Perhaps from around... They most certainly aren't my friends. Were they a classmate? Maybe they're neighbours? I… just can’t remember right now.

"Tch... Don't you realize who this is, Kirisaki-san? It's that ghost girl! You know, that freak who claims she sees ghosts? Probably all bullshit anyway."

Shimada-san... He… seems adequately aware of my _gifts_ … But who is Shimada-san? His voice sounds strikingly familiar. As well as that girl, Kirisaki-san. I must have met them before as well. Her female tone is even more recognizable than Shimada-san's male one… I’m thinking classmates from school.

"Back me up, Kizami-san. Tell her it's time to get going. This school gives me the creeps as much as it is…”

Shimada-san. Kirisaki-san. Kizami-san. Names so familiar... but at the same time aren't. I must be acquaintances with them. I might have helped them in the past if they were of the spirit realm... Or maybe I go to school with them? No... I just… Why can’t I remember?

There was a sigh. It was long and tired, obviously annoyed with the situation. "We can't leave her, Shimada-san. Kirisaki-san, help me get her on my back."

"Of course, Kizami-san."

Without warning, something fiery hot grasped my arm. It felt like it was burning me; melting my skin alive. It sent painful waves of burning agony down my arm; constant as if I were being touched by the Sun. Instantly, I shot up. My green eyes were wide with fear and I bit my tongue to hold back the scream that was caught in my mouth. The group collectively gasped, jumping back in surprise. Words spilled out of one of their mouths; colourful words that sounded distinctly like another language.

I realized, with a silent gasp, that the three teenagers in front of me went to my school. My stomach knotted as I recognized the three; they were all in the eleventh grade while I had only started high school that year.

A pregnant silence draped over us. No one moved as they stared at me with suspicious glares.

I took this opportunity to look around. It was fairly dark, my eyes having a hard time adjusting. From what I could tell, I was currently half sitting in a long, ominous hallway. The wooden floorboards beneath me were dirty and full of holes and splinters. They would squeak at any small movement any of us made. The walls were chipping their paint, revealing the wooden structure underneath. It took a moment of staring to realize that the walls looked suspiciously like that of an older school.

"... Are you okay...?"

I blinked, taking a harsh inhale in as a feminine voice brought me back to the current situation at hand.

It was the girl, Kirisaki-senpai, who voiced her concerns for me. She wore the same school uniform as me; a white blouse sailor-style fuku - which had a few dirt spots - with green collar and red tie. She also had a green pleated skirt, in which both of her hands were rested on. Her greyish-green hair was pulled back into a pony tail with a white bow. Her turquoise eyes studied me hard, swirling with emotions. Her lips were parted slightly with worry.

I nod meekly, in my own state of shock. I couldn’t grasp how I got here, nor where this place was. A part of me was touched that they would think to make sure I was okay… Wherever we are, it didn’t look safe, nor did it feel like it. I tried my best not to bite my lip as I curled in on myself, feeling the heavy atmosphere of the school crush me.

"That's good. Do you know how you got here..." she paused as if trying to think of my name.

"Minoto Aika," I offered. I didn't feel offended at the fact she didn't know my real name; hardly anyone did. "But no... I don't remember how I got here. Do you happen to know where "here" is?"

The raven-haired male regained his composure, answering my question, "We're not exactly sure. But from the clues we found, this is Heavenly Host Elementary. Although… it’s not what it seems to be.”

The larger male of the two was also kneeling, next to the girl. He had short black hair, unkempt. On his shoulder was his standard Byakudan School maroon blazer. His white dress shirt was untucked and unbuttoned at the top, the sleeves rolled up as well. There was a silver chain hooked onto his black slacks. His eyes sent terrified shivers down my spine. They calculated me carefully, his dark orbs void of any emotion.

I swallowed to myself, trying to ignore the uneasiness I felt under his stare. His eyes enraptured me; I lost myself in the swirling pools of darkness before I tore myself away. I blinked towards the ground as I racked my brain for any mention of a Heaven Host. I can’t say I’ve ever heard of the school, although I never really paid attention to other schools in the area of my own. The harder I thought, the more I realized I still couldn't remember how I got here.

"I… Never heard of it...” I admitted softly. “… and I have no memory of how I got here."

A snicker came from the redhead, "Probably one of your ghost friends."

My green eyes met the standing figure’s icy blue eyes as he stared indifferently at me. They were swirling with emotions like Kirisaki-senpai's, but evidently darker ones than his female companion. His untamed, wild red hair draped down the back of his neck to his maroon blazer collar. He had a black choker and a winged pendant around his neck. His blazer itself had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, unbuttoned to reveal his unbuttoned collared dress shirt and a black t-shirt. He had a golden belt buckle that shone brightly on his person, holding his black slacks up. There was a silver chain that hung off his waist.

"Shimada-san!"

Kirisaki-senpai made a move towards Shimada-senpai but I found myself reaching out to grab her skirt, "It's okay, Kirisaki-senpai...” She seemed confused with my actions, but I turned my head away from them as I acknowledged Shimada-senpai, “Uh... N-No Shimada-senpai… I’m not really sure how I got here… and I doubt ghosts would have the strength to take me here…”

The group looked dumbfounded when I addressed, senpai honorific and all. I sighed, straightening myself up and letting go of Kirisaki-senpai. "I go to your school... Your... names pop up quite frequently among my grade so it wasn't hard to put names to faces...” I left out the part of hearing them referring to each other by names… it didn’t seem all that important.

Both Shimada-senpai and Kizami-senpai fell silent. Kirisaki-senpai had a guilty look on her face as if she regretted not knowing my name.

"Um... Minoto- _kouhai_ ," the girl began, forcing the term _kouhai_ from her mouth, "You're okay with calling me _Kirisaki-san_ if you want. I mean, we’re all friends here, right? I don’t think it’ll really matter here anyway… we’re all in the same boat.”

Kizami-senpai nodded, agreeing with Kirisaki-senpai's statement. Shimada-senpai, on the other hand, snorted, obviously not pleased with that.

"I don't give a fuck what she calls you, but you better use _senpai_ , got it,  _kouhai_?" he spat viciously.

"Shimada-san!"

"Let it go, Kirisaki-san... We don't have time for arguing." Kizami-senpai spoke up. "Anyway, seeing that you're here, you should come with us. Better chance of surviving if we stick together."

It took me a second to register Kizami-senpai’s words, "Survive? You mean... we can die here?"

Kizami-senpai helped both myself and Kirisaki-senpai up as Shimada-senpai looked at me like I was a freak. I couldn't blame him though… I was a freak. How many people do I know with my...  _gifts_? No one… exactly. I would want to avoid me like the plague too…

"What he meant," Shimada-senpai's voice was suddenly dangerously low. It sent shivers down my spine with the intensity. "This fucked up school kills - without mercy. It's full of corpses... Like a corpse party almost. Minus the booze, drugs and the party atmosphere... And it has ghosts... Lots and lots of fucked up ghosts. Then again, that's your turf, ain't it? Ghosts?"

I said nothing as Shimada-senpai glared at me with hatred boiling in his eyes. I turned my gaze away, finding a sudden interest in the floorboards. This was going to be a long day.

Kirisaki-senpai grimaced, offering me a small smile, “I… would disagree with him but he’s right… We aren’t exactly sure how we got here ourselves but we’re looking for a way out. I’m pretty sure some of our other friends are here too but we can’t find them… and Katayama-san’s… hurt.”

I moved away from the spot I was lying, brushing the dirt away from my skirt. I felt a shiver run down my spine as the chilliness of the building sank into my bones. I stood next to Kirisaki-senpai, feeling my stomach drop.

Although I couldn’t picture exactly who Katayama-senpai was, although I recognized the name as one of their friends. I felt my mouth go dry at the words of him being hurt and the tone that she used. Kizami-senpai mentioned that we can die in here… so how hurt did she mean…?”

“H-hurt…?”

“The idiot got his leg stuck in some piano wire or something that someone decided to string… His own fault for not paying closer attention.”

“Shimada-san,” Kizami-senpai scolded. “You would’ve walked into it as well if Katayama-san never so you owe him your life…” The male sighed, turning to me with tired eyes, “But regarding his words… essentially that’s true. Katayama-san suffered a serious leg wound so we’re looking for a way out so we can get him medical attention.”

Shimada-senpai snorted, “Maybe you guys. I have places to be.”

“Can you be any more of a jerk?” the green-haired girl spat out hotly, glaring at him darkly.

The redhead merely grinned, putting his arms behind his head as if he had no cares in the world, “I suppose I could, but where’s the fun in that?”

I felt out of place. I felt as if I was viewing things I had no business seeing them interacted between one another. They were friends while I was just an outcast eavesdropping. The fleeting thought of going on my own crossed my mind but the sheer fear of the unknown of this place kept me following them.

 

ꐑ(*ꐌ◡ꐌꐐ*)࿐࿔࿓

 

"Beginning to think there’s no _fucking_ way out…"

It's been about a half hour now we've been walking around in search for clues for a way out. The trio ahead of me were pretty quiet, aside from the small talk of Kirisaki-senpai to Kizami-senpai, Shimada-senpai's flirting with Kirisaki-senpai and his near-constant complaining. It was almost comforting though; their idle chatter kept the emptiness of this school, as they claimed, at bay. It didn’t seem as empty with the subtle sounds of their voices.

I was promptly forgotten about… Kizami-senpai remained diligently silent as if lost in his own world, even ignoring some of Kirisaki-senpai’s attempt to talk with him. Kirisaki-senpai, as sweet as she seemed, forgot about me as she dealt with Shimada-senpai’s unwanted advances instead. Shimada-senpai was generally disinterested in me; he didn’t even bother bullying me, so flirtatious advancements were out of the question…

But not unwanted. My face flushed at the thought of Shimada-senpai. My head drifted down, eyes staring fixated to the rotting floors below me. I tried to push my silly fantasies from my head, trying to keep my head in the real world but I lost myself to my imagination.

He was one of the – if not the most – attractive guys in school. Even though he was more popular among the delinquent girls, he could still make a cheerleader blush… and myself blush as well. The only ones seemingly unaffected by his charms were the females closest to him… especially Kirisaki-senpai who seemed appalled by him. But he still tried… no matter how many times she shot him down…

I sighed inwardly, trying to force the thoughts away.  _T_ here is no chance for Shimada-senpai to ever flirt with me, so I should probably stop thinking about that while I’m ahead. I'm just some random girl who can see ghosts on a normal basis… what a turn off that must be.

Speaking of ghosts, Shimada-senpai wasn’t kidding when he mentioned the presence of ghosts here. At first, I thought he was kidding, or if anything exaggerating because of the spooky atmosphere this place gave off. But he wasn’t, and before long I nearly ran straight into the floating body of a departed person. They didn’t seem to notice us, rather just an array of blue hues drifting aimlessly in the hall. I could pick out gentle moans that they released as they drifted into the wall without a care for us.

It was unsettling at first; normally the ghosts I saw were more… animated? For lack of better wording. The ghost that just passed seemed lost in their own time and space; I couldn’t catch anything off their appearance aside from the fact that it looked like they were wearing a uniform of sorts – a school uniform?

The school wasn’t that full of ghosts… but enough to keep popping out of nowhere. The others didn’t seem to notice them, except for when Shimada-senpai stepped through one before visibly shivering… then promptly complaining about the temperature of the building. I stifled a smile, weaving around the poor soul who moaned about their head hurting which put a damper on my mood.

I wanted to reach out to these ghosts; I wanted to do my job and appease them. I never really knew why I was granted gifts like mine, but I tried my best to utilize them to the best of my ability. Because of this, rumours about me spread like wild fire throughout the school that I delved in dark arts and magic… All I really did was seek out those who couldn’t pass by themselves and offered my assistance… nothing really more than that; I didn’t think it was fair to study them for my own amusement or fascination.

I sigh to myself, avoiding another ghost. I forced myself to try and go against my every instinct to chase after it in favour of following the seniors that didn’t give any indication knowing I was here.

Not wanting to be completely forgotten, I push past Shimada-senpai and Kirisaki-senpai so I could walk in front of them. I don’t know exactly why I did; perhaps it was just the emptiness of the school was beginning to eat at me. The floor moaned underneath my feet. I tried to force myself to walk through any ghost that would cross my path to seem more normal to the group that was now behind me. For compensation, I whispered them a small apology though.

" _Shit_... forgot she was here..." Shimada-senpai muttered quietly, confirming my earlier fears.

I bit my lip, trying to ignore the emptiness inside me. Instead, I looked up from the floor, eying another victim wandering aimlessly throughout the halls. I dared not speak to them out of fear of being thought crazy by my companions… Even if they thought I was schizophrenic already. I really shouldn’t be bothered by it… but I guess there was something different about being forced in a confined space with people I hardly knew that I wanted to keep up somewhat of an appearance.

My green orbs drifted to the ghost that drifted into my sight. She offered a blue hue like the others I have seen. Her dead eyes met mine as I stared back at her. Her neck was brutally bent to one side, obviously broken as spit bubbled at the corners of her mouth. I was certain she was wearing a school uniform, a blouse with a skirt but that’s all I grasped before my wrist was suddenly grasped from behind.

I felt my body suddenly snap back from the stopping power of the thing that grabbed me. I gasped out, feeling my arm tug painfully back, almost like it was being pulled from its socket. My mind couldn’t grasp why I was suddenly forced to stop; it immediately ran all sort of weird possibilities of that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

"Watch where you're fucking going!" Shimada-senpai spat harshly into my ear.

I looked down to see nothing. There was an empty abyss below me where I would have walked if Shimada-senpai never stopped me. It was terrifying how black it was – I never saw anything so dark before. At the same time, it almost seemed inviting to jump down... The darkness seemed oddly inviting despite the fear it brought to me.

"You nearly killed yourself..." he muttered angrily, hauling me away from the edge of the hole. "If you're gonna daydream, at least watch where you're heading... or stay behind us." He didn't let go of my wrist as we fell in behind Kirisaki-senpai and Kizami-senpai, who didn't say anything. Kizami-senpai had a weird glint in his eyes as he stalked me. Kirisaki-senpai offered a sheepish smile herself but offered no comment.

"I... I'm sorry... but... you can let go now..." I stuttered, unsure how to proceed with this development. I could feel my cheeks begin to flush red.

"Damn right you're sorry...” he snorted. “And why would I let go? So you can go off and jump into the next hole you see? What am I, stupid? I’d rather not be scarred for life by watching some stupid girl fall to her death because she wasn’t paying attention…”

I started to blush harder, looking away from his face. I tried to pull my hand away, straying off to the side in attempts to dislodge his hand from my wrist. I heard him grunt at my effort before I felt myself being tugged back towards him, my face being smothered by his attire.

He scoffed into my ear before he allowed me a little leeway so I could see where he decided to point towards. “Clearly, you’re incapable of walking by yourself, little Kouhai. You nearly fell into another crevasse…”

I felt my voice caught in the back of my throat. My face flushed red as I nodded against his chest. I hated how he was right, although the heat of his skin against mine felt… pleasant. I shouldn’t be relishing in the feeling of it but I found myself submitting to his advances due to my own selfish desires.

As we walked away, Shimada-senpai still clutched my wrist tightly. It caused a pleasant pool of heat in my heart but I couldn't help but wonder why he was being so protective so suddenly. At first, it seemed he seemed so indifferent about my survival, clearly voicing that he would rather leave me behind. But here he was now… making sure I didn't fall into my death... My mind swirled with so many thoughts but I couldn’t flag one down long enough for me to focus on it.

"Is... this an exit?" Kirisaki-senpai’s voice tore me away from my thoughts.

She ran ahead of our group, towards the door that apparently appeared. I quickly looked around, not realizing where we were. The small lockers and benches indicated a foyer of some sort... fitting for an elementary school. From where I was standing, it looks like it was raining through the window that allowed a bit of light to seep into the darkness of the school. It wasn’t until now that I realized how dark it really was in here until I saw the light illuminating the floor. Every so often, there would be a bright flash of lightning, quickly followed by a loud clap of thunder. I was somewhat shocked I never noticed the thunderous sound above us before.

The grip on my wrist tightened as Kirisaki-senpai opened the door. Shimada-senpai seemed to be anticipating something… perhaps going home so he could text his girlfriend or something…

The thought left a sour taste in my mouth.

"Eek! It's pouring!" she exclaimed, pulling back. She was already wet just by opening them. Her fuku grew a darker colour as the water was soaked up into it. She looked miserable as she wrung out the bottom of her shirt, wiping the drops off her face with her sleeve. “Ugh… I’m soaked…”

"Hey, Kirisaki-san! You look good while wet," Shimada-senpai smirked devilishly, letting go of my hand. He stalked towards her, his intents very clear. I almost reached out to grab his hand again. His touch was comforting to me; I never realized how much I would miss his touch until I lost it…

Kirisaki-senpai rolled her eyes, deciding to ignore his perverted comment. "We should go back to the others and tell them."

Others…? Oh right… Kirisaki-senpai mentioned that their other friends were here and that Katayama-senpai was waiting for them to return with a way out so he could receive medical treatment. I felt a weight lift off my heart at the thought of their friend getting help. Although I wasn’t aware of the extent of his wounds, he must be in a lot of pain if what I was told was true…

Who would string piano wire up anyway?

Kizami-senpai nodded, agreeing with the girl. Shimada-senpai merely scoffed at them, turning towards the open door where the rain down poured, "Are you fucking kidding me? No way am I headin' back into that hell!"

"Shimada-san... We have to tell them," Kirisaki-senpai hissed. “We can’t just let Katayama-senpai die! And we have to find the others as well!”

"Fuck that. It's their fault for staying in the first place!" he snapped. “Why should I get myself killed for their incompetence?”

He paused briefly, something dangerous flashing in his icy eyes. He carefully analyzed Kirisaki-senpai with a hungry expression. "You... should come with me. You're special to me and I'd hate to see you wound up dead. I’m sure everyone else will make it out all right…”

I felt an odd anger begin to pool in the bit of my stomach. I've felt this feeling many times before but on different subjects. This burning feeling was a permanent part of my life but it never came up in a situation like this before.

Why was I suddenly jealous? This isn’t the first time that Shimada-senpai flirted with a girl… especially not the first time he flirted with Kirisaki-senpai in such a manner. He saved my life… and he seemed to care for me even if that time was so brief… For once, I felt like someone was genuinely concerned for me, so I suppose it was sort of a slap in the face when he still decided to go after Kirisaki-senpai… I guess I was just forgotten about once more.

I almost wanted to laugh at myself. Why was I so gullible? I fall head over heels for the first person to show any sort of acknowledgement of me? I really needed my head checked.

"Forget it, Shimada-san. How many times have you said that in the mirror?"

Shimada-senpai scoffed, almost chuckling. He muttered something in another language – English maybe? - before eying Kizami-senpai darkly. He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a knife.

He twirled it in his fingers, playing with the dangerous weapon. I caught Kirisaki-senpai’s expression: she was wondering where he got it from and possibly _why_ he had it to begin with. He kept twirling it as if he was trying to make a point, although I wasn’t sure what that point was. The blade glinted as a flash of lightning illuminated the blade, shining brightly into the darkness.

Why did Shimada-senpai have a knife on him? I knew he was more of a delinquent and liked to vandalize, but was there a need to have a knife? And judging by everyone’s attire, they were plucked straight out of school or just after it, meaning that he had it _in_ school. I felt unsettled with the fact that the redhead felt a need to bring such a dangerous weapon to school for no apparent reason other than to look more intimidating to others.

"Bought this yesterday," he commented softly. He threw it up into the air once more, catching the handle while the tip of the blade was aimed in Kizami-senpai’s direction. There was a brief pause before, "I can't wait to try it..."

His words were not as lost on me as I would like them to have been.

I turned to Kizami-senpai who stood motionless. I scanned his face for any sort of indication of what he was thinking. His dark eyes merely calculated the threat, his gaze unwavering as he studied Shimada-senpai intensely. After perhaps a full minute, a small smile formed on his face.

"Haha. You are amusing."

I gulped, watching the duo bewildered as my eyes drifted to Kirisaki-senpai. She had moved in front of the doors so the light made it difficult to see her expression. I couldn’t pick out on her features if I was the only one that got an odd vibe from that statement. The tone seemed twisted; it was mixed between genuinely amused with a darker undertone that wasn't so easy to detect. Nevertheless, whatever Kizami-senpai was trying to get at, it sent shivers down my spine.

Shimada-senpai narrowed his eyes suspiciously at him before sheathing his knife in a belt loop instead of his breast pocket. He remained motionless for a moment, perhaps wondering what was going through the raven-haired male’s head before he turned to me with a lazy tilt of the head, "What about you, Ghost-kouhai?"

I froze where I stood, my heart hammering in my ears. I was certain I was forgotten about once more as the exchange took place. I didn’t move, nor did I make a sound so it struck me that the model remembered I was observing them as well. I was too shocked to call him out on the derogatory use of my “nickname”.

"M-Me?" I squeaked.

The redhead rolled his eyes, "Who else, Kouhai?... Are you coming with me or what? I don't have all day."

I felt my mouth dry as I tried to comprehend his words. He… wanted me to go with him. Kirisaki-senpai didn’t want to, so I assumed he was just going to go by himself as he didn’t seem to keen with asking Kizami-senpai. Instead, he surprised me with offering to take me with him, although I wasn’t exactly sure where we would go. We didn’t know exactly _where_ we were, except for the location’s name. It was thundering outside although I don’t remember the forecast calling for any sort of rain all week…

For a moment, I fantasized about going with him. We would travel through the freezing downpour to the nearest town to ask for some help in rescuing our friends from some haunted abandoned school. We’d save them all and for some odd reason, Shimada-senpai would insist on staying my friend. Everything would blossom from there and by my last year of high school, we would be happy in a relationship with plans of living together after I got out of school…

Before my fantasy could continue any further, a large gust of wind blew from outside. The force caused rain to splash in, earning a curse from Shimada-senpai who was standing closest to the open doors. Kizami-senpai shielded Kirisaki-senpai from the blast as she cuddled into him as I turned my back, hoping to spare my face from the onslaught of the icy gale.

" _Don't_ _... Go_ _..."_

My head snapped up to the voice that suddenly my head. Floating in the once vacant doorway was a blue ghost who appeared. Water dripped from his lanky figure as he bobbed up and down in his spot, shivering as he wrapped his arms around his soaking body. His collared shirt stuck to his arms as he attempted to rub himself warm, his slacks hanging low from the excess water. His tie was tied around his forehead, perhaps to keep water from dripping into his eyes.

" _Endless sea of trees... On cursed grounds I see..."_

“Well, Kouhai?”

" _There's no way out..."_ the ghost moaned again, this time looking directly at me. I could see the terror in his eyes as I imagined him running through the sea of trees he spoke of. He jumped over fallen logs and busted through branches, perhaps even falling down a few times, maybe even twisting an ankle. Eventually, the excess amount of rain and cold would kill him off as pneumonia set in before he even made it back to the school for cover.

I shivered, gulping audibly.

I turned to my seniors who were staring at me weirdly. I felt my voice caught in my throat again as Shimada-senpai rose an eyebrow in a questioning manner. I had to remind myself that they probably couldn’t see or hear what I did, so I looked like I was just staring off into space for no good reason.

"There isn't a way out..." I finally said after gathering enough courage to do so. I could feel Shimada-senpai’s heated stare on my figure.

"How the _fuck_ do you know that?"

"There's... a spirit who told me...”

“Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me…”

The redhead cursed in a language I was certain was English as he turned towards the door. I couldn’t see his expression but I assumed he was debating whether to listen to me. I mean, it _did_ sound really strange, a ghost telling some random girl that it’s not possible to get out through the forest.

He turned back towards me, his face unreadable. He studied me carefully as everyone remained quiet, even the ghost who was there to warn me seemed to have wandered off. The redhead appeared to be in some sort of battle with himself as he calculated me cooly.

“And you trust this ghost, do you?”

“I…”

Looking back at it, it did seem weird. I mean, how long was he out in the forest before he suddenly keeled over and died? This _is_ a school after all… so they wouldn’t build a school out in the middle of nowhere, right? It would have to be nearby for someone to kidnap so many students to put them in this haunted freak show just to kill them… I almost wanted to say that I was mistaken, that the ghost was just a figment of my imagination but something gnawed at the back of my skull, urging me to trust the ghost as if my life depended on it.

Unfortunately for me, my life _did_ depend on it.

“Yes… I do. I trust him.”

Stealing one last look at the door, the model sighed, walking towards it. For a second, I feared that he was going to go out anyway but he closed the doors instead, effectively staying inside with the rest of us. I offered him a sheepish smile as he gave me one last look, his eyes ever calculating before muttering something to himself in another tongue.

The other two were silent during our exchange, having moved out of the front hall back to the main hall in preparation to find the rest of their friends. Kirisaki-senpai seemed surprised to find that Shimada-senpai was coming with us after all, while Kizami-senpai remained indifferent about the whole thing.

We fell in behind them, Kirisaki-senpai leading the way with Kizami-senpai following closely behind her. I didn’t pay much attention to where we were going, I was merely trapped in my own thoughts as I tried to piece together exactly just transpired.

"For the damned record," Shimada-senpai suddenly called out in my direction, his voice filling the soundless void. I nearly jumped from the suddenness of it. "The only reason I didn't go wasn't because of your stupid warning, Ghost-kouhai. I just didn't want to get wet; I have a photo shoot later and I didn't want to get my hair ruined… Besides, I don’t feel like walking through the bush either.”

I heard a snort, presumably from Kirisaki-senpai who was shaking her head no. Shimada-senpai sneered in response, scoffing to the side but no words were exchanged.

A smile came to my lips. I couldn't help but wonder if he was only saying that so we wouldn't get the wrong idea of him believing me… it seemed like something he would do just to prove a point. Whatever his reasoning though, his excuse still made me laugh quietly under my breath.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I... I never realized how twisted some of my school mates truly were...

_It all happened so fast... I could barely keep track of what was going on… It was like everything was a nightmare. I… Even now I’m not sure._

"So... who else is here…?"

_I... I thought despite the conditions... I had some companions. For the first time in my life, I had someone to rely on. Someone I could turn to in case something happened. It was comforting for a bit._

"Well, let's see... there's obviously Shimada-san and Kizami-san… So… there's Urabe Emi-san… Katayama Ryosuke-san, and Ohkawa Tomohiro-san. We were also with Yamamoto Mistuki-san, Kurosaki Kensuke-san, and Fukuroi Masato-san but…”

_I… don’t understand this place. I can’t grasp why it happened… or the events that lead to it. It made me question the true direness of the situation we found ourselves in… Who brought us here to begin with?_

"Wow... that's a lot," I murmured softly. It was striking how many people were brought here against their will… I could only wonder how many others were brought here as well.

Kirisaki-senpai nodded her head. "Yeah, we were all cleaning out the student council room. Urabe-san suggested we do the _Sachiko Forever After_ charm together. Done right, you'll stay friends with the others forever. Well… That's what was supposed to happen…" she trailed off, mumbling other questions under her breath. “I… I don’t remember what happened after that though… like how we ended up here.”

I bit my lip to stop myself from asking a question burning in my mind: why did Shimada-senpai participate? Why was he even in the council room to begin with? It was obvious to everyone in the school he wasn't really friends with them. He just seemed to hang out with them to more or less to annoy them… Perhaps they were closer friends than they all let on…

Another question burned into my brain: who would kidnap a bunch of students from school to bring them here? And while on that topic… why was I brought here? I don’t _remember_ being at school… maybe I forgot a book and sort of got stuck in the crossfire? … I was certain I made it home though.

"Oh… I see...” I said after a period of silence. “Is… is everyone waiting for you?" I refrain from using us, deciding this was safer to ask.

"Nope... some are still missing... They're probably dead. But who really cares... we got to look out for ourselves here. If they aren’t competent enough to then it sucks to be them."

"Shimada-san!”

I allowed myself to give a shaky laugh, trying to ease the tension Shimada-senpai’s words brought. I felt brave enough to address Kizami-senpai about the situation, "How do you put up with this, Kizami-senpai… Oh, I mean Kizami-san?"

He stayed silent, his eyes trained forward. He seemed to ignore me, more out of not paying attention than being rude. His eyebrows suddenly rose when he finally noticed my eyes gazing up at him. He looked down at me, registering my question with knitted brows. His eyes swirled with untold emotions before a small smile formed on his lips, “I'm still trying to figure that one out..." There was a hint of amusement in his voice, but there was something else under it I couldn’t quite place.

His answer made me shudder, my steps almost faulting as I stared worriedly at Kizami-senpai. A dark aura seemed to hang around him… but I pushed it off as just my imagination. I merely assumed I was just tired and confused, more than anything else dangerous…

"Cold are we, Ghost-kouhai?" Shimada-senpai chuckled as if it were funny.

“She does have a name, Shimada-san,” the girl next to him spoke up for me.

The model promptly ignored her with a snort, shrugging off his blazer. He stepped closer to me with a touch of a smirk on his face, "Here. I don't want it anyway."

I stood confused for a second, my steps faulting. I looked between the outstretched arm and his face, trying to figure out what he was playing at. It took me longer than I’d like to admit to realize that he was offering his jacket for a bit of warmth so I wouldn’t shiver anymore. I felt my cheeks heat up from embarrassment… though the gesture did make my heart flutter.

"I… I don’t need your blazer, Shimada-senpai…”

His eyes narrowed as he blew a hot breath towards me, “Just take it. I don’t want it and it’s better than hearing your teeth chatter.” He wasn't facing me; instead, he had his head turned towards one of the walls with apparent interest with the peeling paint.

I felt awkward standing there as he gave another huff, closing the gap between us. Without my consent, he draped the heavy fabric onto my shoulders without so much of a scowl on his face. I was pressured into wearing it, finding it was easier just to grin and bear it than to fight it. I slowly put my arms through the sleeves, the heat of my blush still present on my cheeks. It was far too big as it fell off my slim shoulders. The sleeves were rolled up to the middle of my forearm while the ends of the blazer reached halfway down my thigh.

Shimada-senpai chuckled to himself as his eyes grazed over me. His stare sent an odd shiver went down my spine as my stomach fluttered nervously. I wasn’t sure if he was laughing because of how awkwardly big it was on my tinier form or something else entirely.

"You two go on ahead. We'll catch up," he waved the other two off who were watching our exchange. Kirisaki-senpai stole a worrying glance towards me before turning to Kizami-senpai to walk away from us. They were quickly swallowed in the darkness of the school, leaving me behind with the model.

Shimada-senpai stood silently, watching me carefully. His blue eyes scanned my figure as he brought a finger to his chin, tutting his tongue, "No... This won't do..."

Reaching out, he straightened the blazer onto my shoulders properly. Shimada-senpai then proceeded with his deft fingers to button up the first button of the blazer to stop it from falling, although it wasn’t very effective. His fingertips left goosebumps on my arms as he unrolled the sleeves so they would cover my hands entirely.

 I suddenly felt self-conscious as he stood back. He mumbled something I couldn't quite catch as he spoke in English once again. From the subtitles of English shows I watched sometimes, I could recognize he said something like " _kyute_ ", but I couldn't place my word on the translation.

Shimada-senpai brushed a stray strand of hair away from my face, cupping my cheek in an oddly gentle way. He stared deeply into my eyes with his icy blue ones… they looked as if he was having a war on the inside and he was torn into two.

I couldn't help but freeze. This was almost too much human interactions than I can handle. I've never been this  _intimate,_  for lack of better words, so such interactions from Byakudan's resident flirt made me want to die and become one of the ghosts that haunted this school.

His thumb started to slowly inch its way down my cheekbone, gliding over my skin whilst leaving goosebumps in its wake. It slowly curved at my cheek, moving towards my lips. His thumb brushed against them so gently it tickled, more English words spilling from under his breath. Shimada-senpai's eyes narrowed as his eyebrows furrowed as if he was confused over something. His eyes flashed briefly with something I could not quite catch, a devilish smirk spreading across his handsome face.

Suddenly, a scream rippled through the air like a shock wave. It made Shimada-senpai and I jolt, his warm touch ripping away from me. He spat out a swear word before he realized who the scream was from, " _Fuck_..." cursing in English, "That sounded like Hell Girl-san..."

Without wasting another second, Shimada-senpai reached for one of my arms to roll up the sleeve just enough so I could use my hand. He did this with my other hand before he grabbed onto it.

"C'mon, let's go see what's going on…" he ordered as he started to drag me through the halls.

He led me through the dark hallways that Kizami-senpai and Kirisaki-senpai disappeared into. He avoided the many holes that took up most of the floor, dragging me behind him. He passed through a ghost without a second glance while I tried my best to not walk through them, not enjoying the fact I didn’t have much of a choice.

"Stop trying to break free…" he finally growled as we started to slow down.

"S-Sorry, Shimada-senpai… I just…"

"Just what?"

"I don't like passing through ghost…" I murmured with a whisper. I looked away from his icy gaze, almost as if I were ashamed of myself.

There was a pregnant silence as the only sounds were our empty footsteps echoing off the walls.

"You could've said something…" he grumbled, letting go of my hand. "Not like I want to pass through these invisible ghosts either."

_Did he just…? He didn't make fun of me?_

"C'mon… We're almost there… I think."

"We aren't lost… Are we, Senpai?" I was getting tired calling him by his entire name.

"No,  _Kouhai_ _…_ Just I think we're almost there. There should be a set of stairs somewhere…"

Just as he said that, a stairwell appeared on my right while the rest of the school drifted into obscurity. Shimada-senpai made a grab for my hand as he started to lead me up them. We wasted no time traversing further into the darkness, passing by doors I never had the chance to identify what they were. The walls passed by like a blur before I suddenly found myself being lead up another set of stairs. Amidst the climb, voices could be heard from the top of the landing. I breathed a sigh of relief, glad that we weren't truly lost in this haunted school.

"Told you we weren't lost," Shimada-senpai smirked smugly after being silent for so long.

At the top of the landing, we were met with four figures. One was obviously Kizami-senpai who nodded his head as a greeting although his eyes weren’t as kind. There was a female who wore the same uniform as me, much like Kirisaki-senpai had. Her green eyes peered curiously from under pink glasses as her medium-length brownish-green hair draped behind her back. Leaning against the wall looking ghostly pale was a boy with sandy-coloured hair who wore the standard men's uniform, not different than Shimada-senpai’s or Kizami-senpai’s, only worn properly. His face was twisted in agony as a pool of blood seeped from a wound on his leg. The fourth figure who was crouched next to the injured boy was again wearing the Byakudan boys uniform, his blazer buttoned up, completed with a tie. His brown hair had curls whilst his blue eyes were full of worry.

"What was that screamin' about?" Shimada-senpai questioned, looking between his classmates. I stayed silent by his side.

"We heard Yamamoto-san scream so Kirisaki-san went to find her. Katayama-san has passed out from blood loss," Kizami-senpai filled in briefly.

He nodded as I shyly moved behind him, unconsciously gripping his hand tighter. He said nothing, merely moving his arm to a more comfortable position so I could stand behind him. I suddenly felt very aware of the fact I was wearing Shimada-senpai's blazer, making me feel very uncomfortable, if not embarrassed. Urabe Emi-senpai watched me quizzically, confused about who this girl wearing Shimada-senpai's blazer was and where did she come from. Ohkawa Tomohiro-senpai was too busy doting over Katayama Ryousuke-senpai who let out a pained gasp.

"Shimada-san..." Urabe-senpai began meekly. "Who is that…?" She gestured towards me.

"Huh? Oh, this is Ghost-kouhai."

Kizami-senpai sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "He means Minoto Aika-san. She's from our school, albeit a year younger than us.”

"Oh, well I'm Urabe Emi. Nice to meet you," she greeted with a small smile.

I nodded curtly, biting my lip as I looked up at her, “I… Well, you already know my name now, Urabe-senpai, but I'm Minoto Aika…"

Shimada-senpai's breath hitched as I said _Urabe-senpai,_ snorting hotly. "Weren't you already told to quit using  _senpai_  with everyone?”

Urabe-senpai narrowed her eyes questionably at him before turning to me with a sheepish smile, "As rude as he is, Shimada-san is right… I'm okay with you not calling me  _senpai_. Just  _san_ is alright. I'm sure Ohkawa-san and Katayama-san won't mind either…” her voice began to trail off as the latter name left her lips.

I lowered my head in appreciation, a small blush forming on my cheeks as I murmured a quiet "thank you" under my breath.

Urabe-senpai suddenly spoke up timidly after a pregnant silence, "I'm… Going to go see if Kirisaki-san is okay… I… I’ll be right back…”

No more words were exchanged as I listened to her fading footsteps disappear down the stairs.

I slowly rose my head, now curious what sort of injury Katayama-senpai sported. I let go of Senpai's hand, slowly walking out from behind him to get a better look. I could feel his icy gaze on my back as I slowly approached the shorter males, unable to tear my eyes away from the crimson liquid dripping from the festering wound.

The black slacks on his right leg were ripped and bloody around the wound. The slacks were just soaking up the essential liquid and whatever excess liquid that wasn't absorb pooled underneath him. There was too much blood to see the actual wound, but I was certain I saw specks of white signifying bone. It made my stomach lurch, but I pushed it to the side.

I crouched next to him, hearing Ohkawa-senpai's gently, comforting whispers, "Katayama-san... Hold on, okay...? We'll get you to a hospital..."

"We… We need to stop the bleeding," I murmured softly to the worried boy, noticing they haven't dressed the wound.

"We… We don't have anything to put on it…" Ohkawa-senpai stammered.

I looked back at the males, but ironically only Shimada-senpai had guilty expression plastered on his face. It was weird; Shimada-senpai only seemed to care about himself but he looked even guiltier than Kizami-senpai who just stared blankly at Katayama-senpai.

I sighed softly, ignoring the taller males as I turned back to Katayama-senpai. His face was twisted in pain despite being unconscious. His normally soft features were ripe with agony. My eyes narrowed as I watched his body began to tense, drawing curiosity from me.

"Katayama-san…? Can you hear me…?"

Without any warning, Katayama-senpai's jade eyes snapped open. A blood-curdling scream ripped from his throat, forever searing itself into my ears. I jumped back, shrieking in shock. My eyes widen as tears came to them; my mind froze with the sound. It was so loud; it pierced my ears like a bullet through skin. No matter how many times I hear screams like this - even if they were from the dead - the sound never got easier.

I heard an annoyed sigh, a dramatic gasp and a fury of curse words spill from my school mates respectively.

"Ka… Katayama-san…" Ohkawa-senpai whimpered hoarsely into deaf ears.

The injured boy abruptly stopped, his eyes suddenly void of any life. He slumped against the wall, his body completely lax and limp. A small breath passed over his parted lips.

I heard Ohkawa-senpai starting to panic, doting over his friend once more. Katayama-senpai was so still, so pale I was afraid that he was actually… gone.

I heard floorboards squeak behind me as Kizami-senpai moved around me, kneeling down next to me. I watched him with wide eyes as he gently placed his fingers against Katayama-senpai’s neck. He looked unfazed as he stayed there, ignoring Ohkawa-senpai’s incoherent muttering.

“He’s dead.”

I didn’t register the words at first. I somewhat thought I misheard him as Kizami-senpai stood up, his eyes calculating the injured boy. “I can’t find a pulse.”

My stomach churned at his words as I stared blankly at the wound that still oozed blood. He seemed so still… could it be possible he was actually dead…?

I couldn’t comprehend it. This must have been some sort of dream I was having. How could Katayama-senpai be _dead_? This was just some excellent props or something… Who would kidnap a bunch of random teenagers, plop them in a haunted school and just kill them off? This was just some sort of sick dream that I was going to wake up from… I mean, I should have known this was a dream to begin with – I was getting along with my schoolmates with very little prejudice, with the minor exception of Shimada-senpai. If this isn’t a dream, maybe they’re all in on it or something, trying to trick me… If that’s the case, then I’m impressed that they managed to get real ghosts to play along too…

I heard footsteps climb the stairs, only for Urabe-senpai and Kirisaki-senpai to return. They looked crestfallen but Urabe-san offered a small smile as a greeting.

“We couldn’t find Yamamoto-san…” the girl without glasses admitted in a hushed tone.

“… How’s Katayama-san holding up…?” the second girl asked gently, squeezing Kirisaki-senpai’s hand that she was holding.

There was a long pause as they waited for the verdict. The only one moving was Ohkawa-senpai who seemed to ignore Kizami-senpai’s claim that he was dead, instead busying himself with putting pressure on his fallen friend’s wound.

“He’s dead,” the dark-haired male said eventually.

I watched the news fall over the girls as they paled, their eyes widening. Urabe-senpai had tears in her eyes before she let go of Kirisaki-senpai to drop in front of Katayama-senpai, checking desperately for his pulse. Kirisaki-senpai seemed more shocked to do anything as her lips parted slightly as if trying to comprehend something to say.

The girl next to Ohkawa-senpai leaned back onto her heels, unable to verbally confirm that he was in fact dead. She stood back up on shaky legs, her glasses nearly falling off the bridge of her nose as she looked towards the ground, eyes unfocused. Without warning, Kirisaki-senpai murmured something before bolting back down the stairs, a sob echoing back up the stairwell.

No one moved immediately to go after her. We were all stuck in some sort of trance as we took in the grim reality of the school. It was different seeing ghosts of previous victims floating about; seeing someone passing before your eyes was unsettling…

“Someone should go after her,” Shimada-senpai spoke, although it was clear that he wasn’t volunteering.

I almost offered to follow her myself as I wasn’t too keen to stay around Katayama-senpai’s body for much longer. I felt it wouldn’t do Kirisaki-senpai much good though, even if I meant well. She needed someone she trusted to confide her grief, and I wasn’t close enough to offer her that kind of support.

“I… I’ll go…” Urabe-senpai murmured as she stiffly walked towards the stairs herself, seemingly in shock of the news that fell over her.

Aside from Ohkawa-senpai’s shuffling, no one moved or made a sound. Shimada-senpai stood with his hands in his pockets, unable to bring his eyes up to his fallen classmate as he looked everywhere else but. I couldn’t see Kizami-senpai’s face from the darkness that fell directly in front of his eyes, but he remained motionless as one arm lazily gripped his blazer from falling off his shoulder.

I was still on my knees, a foot or so away from the body. I tried to keep my eyes off him, but I couldn’t tear them away from Katayama-senpai’s paling corpse. I half expected him to open his eyes and with a laugh claim that it was all just a ruse. A part of me didn’t believe any of this was real anymore and that it was just all a dream.

Still though, I found myself looking for his ghost to float by. I found it odd that I never saw it yet; his ghost shouldn’t be too far away from his corpse. Then again, as I thought about it, every other ghost I encountered didn’t seem to accompany a corpse. Initially, I assumed that it was just they were hidden in classrooms or something, but even then, I couldn’t exactly recall seeing any locked doors on the bottom floor. My head swirled with possibilities but the most logical one I could think of was that the ghosts were free to haunt anywhere as long as they remained within the school’s borders. Even so, it was striking that Katayama-senpai’s ghost hasn’t come back to wish Ohkawa-senpai a final farewell... They were best friends and clearly, they cared for one another very much. Why Katayama-senpai wasn’t around was unsettling, leading to more questions than answers.

Before I could continue my thoughts, frantic footsteps paced up the steps, accompanied by heavy breathing. Shimada-senpai and Kizami-senpai moved over to the landing to see what the commotion was.

“We… We need to get moving… Now…!” someone panted out. It sounded like Urabe-senpai, although she was very winded.

“Why? What’s the rush?” the redhead threw back, presumably cocking an eyebrow.

I couldn’t see Urabe-senpai, but I assumed that she was doing something in the pause that followed the question. I moved to my feet, curious what was going on. Quietly, I moved behind the older males, peeking between their bodies down at Urabe-senpai who was quaking in her shoes. She looked like she was struggling to get her words out as she looked frantically between us and down the other set of stairs.

“We… Tohko-chan and I… There… There are ghosts… And… and I don’t think they’re the good kind…”

“Ghosts…?” Kizami-senpai repeated under his breath, bringing a hand to his chin.

I heard the model snort, turning to me with sort of an annoyed look. “Why don’t we just send Ghost-kouhai after them? That _is_ what she does anyway… dealing with batshit crazy ghosts and making them go to rest or some shit.”

I would’ve been offended by his words if they weren’t so true. That _was_ sort of what I did on a very blunt scale, and a part of me wonder if that’s why I was brought here – to somehow appease all the ghosts that made this building their home. I wouldn’t mind doing so… perhaps I could even find Katayama-senpai’s spirit and bring him to rest in order to offer some sort of closure to his distraught friend.

“N-No… I don’t think she should…” the girl at the foot of the stairs looked hesitant, fear still etched on her face. “J-Just come on… We really should get moving…”

Shimada-senpai shrugged his shoulders, moving away from the stairs and closer to Ohkawa-senpai who seemed to have registered Urabe-senpai’s words. He was trying to straighten out the corpse so it would be easier to maneuver without jostling the mangled leg too much.

The raven-haired male spoke up, “Come on, Ohkawa-san. We have to get moving.”

“Y-Yeah, in just a minute… I need help getting him on my back…” The brunette boy was adamant about taking the body with him despite the fact he was growing colder by the second. He was denying the fact that Katayama-senpai would ever dare to leave his side in a place like this.

A stiff sigh fell from Kizami-senpai’s nose as he glared at Ohkawa-senpai. “Ohkawa-san. He’s dead. We have to get going as Urabe-san said. Stop wasting time.”

“N-No. He’s not dead. You’re lying. He… Ryosuke-san _can’t_ be dead. We’ve got to get him ready to go… Just help him onto my back. I’ll carry him myself.”

My heart constricted painfully as I bit my lip in prevention of speaking out. I commended Ohkawa-senpai for his naïve selflessness, willing to carry the boy on his back himself if it meant taking him with us, but then he’d be carrying around dead weight… literally.

“Ohkawa-san. I’m sorry but he’s gone. There’s nothing we can do for him now. There’s no point in carrying a corpse with us,” Kizami-senpai reasoned, though his voice sounded strained.

“Stop it! Don’t say that!” the distraught boy cried out, tears forming in his blue eyes. “You’re lying! Ryosuke-san would never leave me alone like this… He wouldn’t.”

“Look, Ohkawa-san…” Shimada-senpai’s voice rippled through the thick air. He seemed unsure what to say as he licked his lips with uncertainty, “He’s dead. We… can’t help him. You need to snap out of it already.”

My eyes drifted to the small hall around us, trying to break myself away from the tension that was beginning to build. I could pick out two doors along the same wall Katayama-san was propped against, but I couldn’t tell where they lead to. I was looking for any sign of the blue spirit that should be floating around nearby… but I still couldn’t find him.

“For the love of God…” Kizami-senpai growled darkly. “Get a grip, Ohkawa. He is dead. Now get up and let’s get a move on.”

The smaller male stood up defiantly, his body trembling violently. “He’s not dead, Kizami!”

Without warning, Urabe-senpai’s head appeared as she climbed up to the landing. She looked more visibly shaken than she was before as her eyes widened farther than I’ve seen, her body trembling in fear.

“P-Please Ohkawa-san… Just let him go. It’s senseless to carry a corpse around with us; you’ll just be lagged down.”

“I’m not leaving him!”

I was more focused on the darkness that seemed to accumulate around Kizami-senpai as he coolly spoke up, “He’s just a corpse.”

Kizami-senpai closed the gap between himself and the body quickly, heaving Katayama-senpai’s limp body into his arms without a care if he left any bruises or jostled his injury.

“Be careful!” Ohkawa-senpai shrieked, fear flooding his face as the dark-haired male manhandled his friend without any restraint.

Kizami-senpai paid no mind to him as he walked up to the staircase. With a twist of his body, Katayama-senpai’s body was sent flying through the air as Kizami-senpai let go. I felt my blood freeze, unable to move. I _knew_ he was dead, but I couldn’t shake the idea that a living person was sent spiralling down the stairs. I _knew_ he was only a corpse, but Katayama-senpai deserved better, especially after the pain and suffering he just went through.

I _knew_ Katayama-senpai wouldn’t return to us, but Ohkawa-senpai full-heartily disagreed.

His ear-piercing scream met my ears as the sounds of the body tumbling down the stairs accompanied it. I felt my knees grow weak and suddenly collapse beneath me, the soft thudding sound it created merely drowned out by the large crash caused by the body tumbling down.

For a brief moment, no one moved nor made a sound. It was almost like time stood still as Kizami-senpai stood over the ledge, peering down at the body of someone that used to be his living classmate. Ohkawa-senpai was stuck in place as he gaped at the teen in absolute horror, Urabe-senpai sharing a similar expression. Shimada-senpai didn’t seem to know how to react; he was crossed between horror, disgust, and overall anger.

I felt sick. I could still hear Katayama-senpai’s body fall even though it was now eerily quiet. I could feel bile in the back of my throat as I gagged, trying to force it down as I held my hands to my lips. Tears sprung in my eyes, either from the gagging, the event that just occurred, or both.

Ohkawa-senpai let out another scream that ripped through the thick air that was accumulating. Tears freely fell from his unfocused eyes. His hands were brought to his face to cup his cheeks as his legs threatened to give out beneath him.

“N-No… Ryosuke… W-wha…”

The boy stumbled forward, trembling wildly. He looked blankly over the top of the stairs to his friend that I assumed was lying still. He seemed to shake even more if that was possible, another pained whimper passing through his lips.

I… I don’t know exactly what happened next. I _thought_ I saw Kizami-senpai reach his arm out as Ohkawa-senpai went to pass him. I didn’t know what the taller male was doing – stopping the short boy from going after his deceased friend? I… I swore I saw his arm lash out to _push_ Ohkawa-senpai down the stairs. Instead of grabbing onto his jacket, my eyes saw Kizami-senpai merely push him forward so Ohkawa-senpai would lose his footing and tumble down the wooden stairwell.

He didn’t scream. I heard him grunt in pain, but I think it was worse than screaming. I could hear him rapidly descend the stairs like a winter sled on an icy hill. The thumping and thuds went straight to my brain, ceasing any thoughts to do anything as it froze me in place. Knowing that Ohkawa-senpai was still _alive_ when he was seemingly pushed down the stairs turned my stomach far worse than the first time, causing the bile I felt before to arise, this time with more vigor.

Without much of a choice, I doubled over as the bile passed through my lips without consent. The putrid acid burned my mouth as I gagged on it, trying to avoid getting it all over myself as much as possible. The acid burned as much as my shame did. It was funny, really. No matter how gory a ghost appeared, no matter how gruesome their death was, I still managed to get sick over hearing school mates tumbling down the stairs. My body convulsed sporadically as tears pricked my eyes, adding to my overall discomfort.

A soothing hand appeared on my back as another hand gently lifted my hair away from my face. I didn’t know who it was at first, nor did I care. I allowed them to take care of me until I spit out everything my stomach at to offer. The caring hands moved around to my torso so they would prevent me from falling into the pool of acid that was seeping into the wood. They propped me against the wall, gently moving my hair away from my face as their light blue eyes gazed at me with concern.

I caught Shimada-senpai’s expression before he moved away. He was clearly upset, although his previous interactions would raise some questions about why he was. He was pale, looking a little sick himself as he licked his lips before the grief in his eyes turned to anger, a sour expression replacing his horrified one.

I tried to grab the hand that briefly caressed my cheek but I was too slow as he got up, stalking towards Kizami-senpai with a purpose. My throat burned too bad to call out to him as I swallowed, trying to rid myself of the sensation and the bitter taste.

I found myself dazed for a moment. I stared blankly at the spot where Katayama-senpai was originally propped against. Even in the darkness, I could see the pool of crimson red that had leaked from his grievous leg wound…

“You… Y-You _murderer_!” Ohkawa-senpai screeched from the bottom of the stairs. I could hear the pain in his voice as he garbled out other things directed towards Kizami-senpai who didn’t seem to take notice.

Urabe-senpai didn’t move from her spot, unable to tear her eyes away from the tall and short males. Her head frantically switched between them as she tried to comprehend what she just saw. My eyes followed Shimada-senpai as he approached Kizami-senpai, putting a large hand on his shoulder to turn him around roughly.

“What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?!”

The dark-haired male’s eyes were unfocused as he stared blankly towards Shimada-senpai who was seething. He suddenly looked up with a wry grin, an odd sparkle twinkling in his eyes.

Without warning, he threw a punch at Shimada-senpai’s head, knocking him over to the side in surprise. The redhead stumbled, falling to his left as he used his hand to catch himself. He gasped loudly as Urabe-senpai shrieked, the sounds of her bolting down the stairs filling the corridor as the redhead spat out blood.

I heard a growl, assumingly from Shimada-senpai who stood up again. He grabbed the knife he had sheathed and waved it in front of him as he roared at Kizami-senpai, “ _What the actual fuck?!_ Yuuya?!”

But Kizami-senpai only smiled, a dark chuckle emanating from his chest. “I… I think I figured out this school.”

Shimada-senpai faltered but he remained poised to attack. I wish I could see his face so I had an idea what he was thinking but he had his back to me. Fortunately, or unfortunately, I had a perfect view of Kizami-senpai who had a serene expression on his face, but the curl of his lips and darkness in his eyes told otherwise.

“You see, _Kai_ , there _is_ no way out. We’re all going to die. This school is aimed to kill us all and no one survives,” he explained delicately, carefully stringing his words together. He used his impressive height to tower over the model, trying to intimidate him further. “So, in the end…? It doesn’t matter _how_ we die… just that we die.”

With that, Kizami-senpai stepped forward to let lose another punch towards Shimada-senpai. The redhead avoided the attack with ease, lunging to the side to avoid it.

The raven-haired male erupted in laughter as he lunged after Shimada-senpai, “It doesn’t matter if I were to kill anyone or if it’s this damned school! Accept your fate, Shimada… and let me enjoy beating your pretty face in…!”

I couldn’t do anything to stop them if I tried. Fear had me frozen in place as I watched from the wall as Shimada-senpai attempted to feint to the left but Kizami-senpai saw through it. The raven-haired male used his height to advantage as he grabbed onto the redhead by the shoulders, effectively stopping him in place. He then headbutted Shimada-senpai, stunning him as he stumbled back, the knife falling from his grip. Kizami-senpai picked it up with a wicked grin stretching across his face. He thumbed the blade, slicing his forefinger and drawing crimson blood with glee.

Shimada-senpai staggered back, hesitant about charging Kizami-senpai once he realized he held his discarded knife. He was panting heavily but he didn’t run off to save himself. Instead, the model launched a punch towards Kizami-senpai’s gut – which he blocked easily with both arms – then threw a punch to his face. The taller male stumbled back, gritting as he spat some saliva to the ground as he wiped his mouth.

“Just accept your fucking fate, Shimada.”

“What? You getting tired or something?” Shimada-senpai huffed out, trying to remain cocky. “I can keep this up all day…”

That seemed to spur Kizami-senpai even more; he scowled at his competition as he charged Shimada-senpai. The redhead got quickly overwhelmed as he took several steps back towards the wall opposite of me. Kizami-senpai delivered a hard punch to the gut that Shimada-senpai never had a chance to block. With the wind knocked out of him, Kizami-senpai used the opportunity to pin the model against the wall. The redhead struggled against him but Kizami-senpai was stronger.

“I’m going to have fun beating the shit out of you. You always were a pain in the ass.”

Shimada-senpai sneered, spitting in his face in retaliation. “Go fuck yourself, Yuuya.”

“Ryosuke! Get up… Please…!”

Kizami-senpai tensed up upon hearing Ohkawa-senpai’s voice. I shrank against the wall, unable to find the will to stand up myself. It seemed to distract the taller male for a moment, Shimada-senpai using it to struggle against his captor. It didn’t work as Kizami-senpai quickly snapped out of his daze, slamming the redhead back into the wall roughly. He banged his head, stunning himself for a moment.

Kizami-senpai used his free hand to grab one of Shimada-senpai’s hand, pinning it to the wall. “Just so you don’t get any ideas of running away before I have my fun…”

Blood spurted out of Shimada-senpai’s palm as Kizami-senpai drove the knife into it. The roar that ripped from the model’s vocal cords was inhumane as he curled against Kizami-senpai who stepped back, laughing wickedly. He panted heavily as he tried to muffle his voice, blood oozing from the knife wound as it stuck steadfastly against the wall.

The raven-haired male stood in front of the writhing redhead, admiring his work. He seemed to rejoice in the pained moans and whimpered that fumbled out of his lips.

“I must say, they should take a picture of your face now and put it on magazine covers… It’s much better than your normal face.”

Shimada-senpai weakly spat another wad of blood towards Kizami-senpai, catching his shoes, “… Fuck you, Yuuya…”

He said nothing more, leaving the model pinned against the wall as he struggled against the pain. Fear panicked my heart as Kizami-senpai turned. I put a hand over my mouth to prevent myself from breathing too loudly as I shrunk down in my spot, feeling Shimada-senpai’s blazer dwarf my tiny frame.

For once in my life, I was thankful that I was easily forgotten as Kizami-senpai turned his back to confront the people at the bottom of the stairs.

Ignoring my queasy stomach, I shakily rose to my feet. My knees threatened to give out from under me as I leaned heavily against the wall for stability. Once able to stand straight, I tip-toed across the open hall to Shimada-senpai who was trying to stop himself from crying out anymore.

His face was red with exertion, glistening with sweat. It was contorted with agony as more blood spurted from his hand, painting the wall a new coat of red. Some of the liquid dribbled down the length of his arm, soaking into his dirty dress shirt, staining it.

He jolted when he noticed me, his eyes widening with fear with the thought I was Kizami-senpai. It was disturbing that fear was so defined in his eyes. I swore they even looked wet with tears from the pain that he was feeling.

I rested my hands on the hilt of the blade that kept him in place. He seemed confused at first but quickly figured out what I was planning to pull the knife out of his hand. He tensed at first, shaking from pain and terror.

“Just…” I struggled to form words as my trembling fingers had a hard time holding the blade’s handle. “Just try to stay quiet…”

He mumbled a response before putting his good hand over his mouth in order to prevent from speaking out.

I tried to be gentle as I started to pull, but all it did was cause Shimada-senpai to double over as his fingers twitched in agony. I grimaced, my stomach churning once more as blood started to coat my fingers.

“Just pull it out, Kouhai… Like a bandage…” he muttered before biting into the fleshy part of his thumb.

I nod in response, my breathing uneasy as I struggled to remain calm. It was him pinned to the wall, not me.

I counted to five in my head, giving Shimada-senpai no warning as I hauled the knife from the wood. He screamed into his hand as he doubled over onto the floor, able to fall now that his hand was free. Blood had splattered onto my face much to my horror and disgust as the knife clattered to the ground. Slowly, I reached a sleeve to the sticky substance that coated my cheek, trying to forget the fact that it was Shimada-senpai’s blood.

I turned towards the stairs, remembering our bigger problem than just a bit of spilled blood. Kizami-senpai didn’t seem to notice us, even as Shimada-senpai breathed heavily into his palm as he stumbled to his feet. I thought I heard Kizami-senpai talking to Ohkawa-senpai, but all I could hear for sure was the thudding of my own heartbeat.

I felt Shimada-senpai’s body press against my back as his shaky breath hit my right ear. “We have to get past him… up here is a dead end,” he explained in a breathy whisper.

I nod, feeling my head brush against his cheek. I felt him suddenly move behind me to my left side so his good right hand could grab my arm, his other hand hovering above it but doing nothing but dripping blood onto the blazer sleeve.

“Just… stay close to me…” he murmured, moving his hand down my arm so our fingers could lock together.

Despite the situation, I felt my heart flutter slightly.

He lead me up behind Kizami-senpai who didn’t seem to notice us. At the bottom of the stairs was Ohkawa-senpai who was cowering next to Katayama-senpai. Ohkawa-senpai was holding his arm in pain as he yelled out to Kizami-senpai again, still calling him a murderer and that he killed Katayama-senpai. The supposedly dead body was bleeding from every orifice now, coming from his mouth and ears instead of just his leg wound.

My eyes widened as I watched something very blue and very pale float from the body that laid limply on the floor. The figure resembled the limp boy, from his hair to his shoes. There was a wound on the ghostly figure as well, in the same spot as Katayama-senpai's. His face was contorted into eternal pain as he slowly started to float away. He didn't seem to notice anything; his ghastly wails reached my ears, causing me to shiver as the supernatural moans continued to rattle my hearing.

I never had time to comprehend the fact that his ghost only _now_ appeared as Shimada-senpai took off in a mad dash down the stairs. We took Kizami-senpai by surprise as he cursed when we brushed passed him.

“Fuck. I forgot about the tag-along…” he cursed, seemingly about me.

I stumbled after Shimada-senpai as we passed Ohkawa-senpai who looked at us with tears in his eyes. His gaze followed us as he closed his open mouth before he went out of the corner of my eye.

“S-Senpai! What about Ohkawa-san?!”

He ignored me as he dragged me farther and farther into the abyss of a school away from Kizami-senpai, although I was certain I heard footsteps thunder after us – whether it was Ohkawa-senpai or Kizami-senpai, I wasn’t sure. He didn't seem to really care about the fact he left his classmate to die at the hands of an insane boy.

I’m not sure how long we ran. I just followed Shimada-senpai even after he let go of my hand, taking random turns, and going down more stairs. We travelled for what seemed was forever, avoiding the holes in the floor as we did. I started to lag back a lot as I stumbled across ghosts wailing their ghostly tune, trying to avoid from running into them as I tried to keep pace.

A ghost decided to stop right in front of me, effectively cutting me off away from Shimada-senpai. I avoided the girl, who’s yellow fuku and light blue skirt seemed ripped to shreds, as I tried to shimmy behind her as there were holes on either side of the hall. To make up for the lost time, I darted after the receding figure, attempted to not lose him. Because of my mad dash, I never paid attention to the floor as my foot found a particularly weak board, my lag falling straight through it.

I let out a scream as my ankle sent throes of pain up it. I struggled desperately to get my foot out as the sharp edges of the rotting wood cut into my skin.

I heard footsteps return to me, and in my disoriented second, I thought it was Kizami-senpai who caught up with me.

“ _God dammit,_ Kouhai…” the figure said as they lifted me out of the hole that I created, grunting in pain with the action.

My eyes widened when I realized it was Shimada-senpai who had just turned back to help me, much to my surprise. His eyebrows were crossed with fury as he ignored my eyes, rather looking over my leg for the damage I did.

I flinched when he put pressure on my right ankle. It throbbed painfully as it laced up my leg. My sock was dirty with splinters as my shoe constricted my rapidly swelling foot.

“Well. You certainly did a number on it…” the male muttered.

I felt dread wash over me. I figured that Shimada-senpai would just take one look at my ankle and go. He left Ohkawa-senpai with Kizami-senpai without any discussion, why wouldn’t he leave me? At least with Ohkawa-senpai, he looked like he was able to run on his own… I don’t even know if I can stand. The fear ate at me as words moved from my mouth on their own, “Just… go, Shimada-senpai. I don’t think I can stand…” It was easier to dismiss him myself than being left here without my consent.

He merely ignored my pleas, giving me a cold look, “ _Bullshit_. I’m going to carry you…” He mumbled something else under his breath but I didn’t catch the foreign words.

Without warning, I was hoisted to my feet and prompted to jump onto his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck while he his hands lifted my thighs up around his waist. It was a strange sensation as he started to walk forward; I could feel his every breath as I rest my chin on his shoulder.

A warm, sticky substance dripping down my leg brought me back to a grim reality. It created a very itchy sensation that was beginning to grow uncomfortable but I tried to ignore it as there was nothing we could do about it right now.

“Senpai… your hand…” I began to bring up, feeling his blood curve over my skin and onto the floor. Some even dribbled as far as the crook of my knee, cascading down my calf.

“It’s fine,” he interrupted sharply.

I bit my lip, burying my face into his shoulder. I was suddenly overcome with grief as a sob escaped me, shaking my body. I tried to stop myself but it only came harder as I choked out, “I’m… sorry…”

“… Why? You have nothing to apologize for.”

“B… but…”

I felt him sigh heavily as he slowed his pace. He turned his head so his icy blue eyes could stare directly into my green eyes. “Honestly Kouhai. If I had a problem with you, I would’ve ditched you by now.”

His words were so sweet; they dripped from his mouth laced with warm honey. They were smoother than fine sewed satin silk, causing my heart to palpitate uncontrollably. My cheeks lit up with his delicate words, butterflies dancing in my stomach. My eyes caught his again, and suddenly all warmth I felt was gone.

I figured his eyes would be warmer than they were, after saying such kind words to me, but I felt like I was staring into a frozen storage. His eyes made it seem like his words were just a practiced mantra, laced with heroin rather than honey.

I kept it to myself, unsure if it was just my eyes playing tricks on me or if I was just overthinking it.

“Th-Thank you…” I mumbled into his ear, unsure what else to say in response.

I felt his shoulders shrug underneath me, earning no further conversation from him.

I wanted to ask Shimada-senpai why he didn't want to ditch me... He seemed readily to sentence Ohkawa-senpai to death with the wrath of Kizami-senpai, and he was supposed to be his friend. I couldn't piece it together in my hurting head. I was nothing but a liability for him, considering he had no other choice but to carry me if he didn't want to leave me. Why would someone who seemed to hate me not just leave me to die? Was he keeping me for another altercation so I could be his distraction so he could escape?

The trickling of blood sliding down my leg reminded me that we needed to tend to our wounds.

"Is... there an infirmary in this school?" I murmured timidly into his ear.

He used his favourite English curse words as he spoke under his breath. "Yes... but it's locked."

The ground beneath us started to rumble the second the words fell from his mouth. I inadvertently cried out, Shimada-senpai swearing once more. He quickly got me off his back and pinned me to the wall, shielding me with his body. His arms were protecting my head as he forehead pressed against mine. His eyes were trained on me as the ground shook beneath our feet, debris falling all around us. I clutched on to Shimada-senpai for dear life, bringing his shirt close to my chest.

It stopped as quickly as it started, leaving us in an eerie silence that accompanied our heavy breathing.

"You okay...?" he whispered softly. His blue eyes scanned my face, looking for any signs of discomfort. His forehead was still pressed against mine as I felt his warm breath brush across my face.

I nodded my head jerkily, staring back with the same intensity as him, "You?"

He backed away, breathing deeply as he looked around, "Yeah."

I joined him in looking around, astonished by our surroundings. We haven't left the school, much to my dismay, but the hallway we were in was different. The floorboards, which we previously a dusty brown colour was now a lighter tan colour. An open door had appeared on the other side of the hall, which was not there before. Even the atmosphere felt different; before it was dark and heavy – it was almost hard to breathe. Now, it felt lighter. I was actually beginning to feel safe for the first time during my imprisonment at this school.

"This is not the same hall we were just in..." I murmured as if it weren't obvious.

Shimada-senpai narrowed his eyes suspiciously as he noticed the door. He took a few steps towards it before he gasped loudly, gawking at the room, "Infirmary? But that's impossible... It was locked earlier... not to mention somewhere else entirely! What the fuck…?"

I felt my knees grow weak as I leaned heavily against the wall on one foot whilst I applied close to no pressure on my injured foot. "I'd... rather not question it..." I murmured, suddenly overwhelmed with exhausted.

The redhead analyzed me for a passing moment before he nodded. He walked up to me, hoisting me into his arms. The swiftness and fluidness of his actions made me think he’s done this before with many girls as he carried me bridal-style into the infirmary.

I had no say in the matter, even if I disliked the action. My only form of retaliation was the heavy blush that was sitting on my cheeks.

The room was rather basic; a few curtains scattered throughout. Two beds were set in one corner of the room with two medicine cabinets next to it. Shimada-senpai set me on the outside bed, leaving me there to look through the supplies while I looked around the rest of the room. A desk was on the other side of the cabinets with another cabinet and a sink on the other side of that. Something that looked like an old space heater of some sort was near the curtains in the center of the room. A beaten chair was in the opposing diagonal corner of me.

Clattering tore me away from the room and back to Shimada-senpai. He held bundled wrappings, dressings, and disinfectants with swabs in his arms, dumping them unceremoniously on the bed next to me.

"We should probably look after my hand first before your ankle," he muttered, plopping down on my other side. His skin looked oddly pale as a thin layer of sweat covered it. His face was flushed as he blinked slowly at me, his blue eyes exhausted.

I took a shaky breath, realizing that he might be beginning to go into shock, especially with all the blood he must have lost. I quickly sifted through the medical supplies, grabbing the disinfectant and swabs. Shimada-senpai held out his bleeding hand; some of the blood had already dried and formed scabs while some still trickled out.

I opened the bottle, pouring some of the liquid onto the puffy balls of cotton. I reached for his hand, deciding to start with the back of his hand first. He visibly winced as the swab touched his open wound, tensing his entire body.

" _Fuck_ ," he huffed, "Be gentler would you…!"

"Sorry…"

I tried to clean it as well as possible, choosing to use a new swab frequently. When I was satisfied with the cleaning, I reached for some dressing. I placed it against the back of his hand, reaching for his other one, "Hold it here while I clean your palm."

He obliged as I turned over his hand to clean his palm. It was slightly messier than the back of his hand where it was pressed against my leg. It had just pooled and covered his skin with the red plasma. A part of me realized that having it pressed against my leg might have slowed the bleeding a bit with the pressure, to which I was thankful for. I cleared away the blood and dirt, showing the gruesome stab wound entry to the world. I swallowed the sick feeling that started to boil in my throat, reaching for another piece of dressing.

I placed the dressing on his palm, grabbing some bandages. I unhooked the two aluminum clips before I unrolled it. I anchored the bandage at this wrist, tightly wrapping it around his hand. I covered the dressings with the bandage, wrapping it up around the base of his thumb to his knuckles. I took the clips and clipped them onto the loose end of the roll, fastening it to the rest of the bandage.

Shimada-senpai took his hand away from mine, bring it close to his face to examine it, "Thanks…"

I nodded meekly, a blush forming on my face.

He sighed before abruptly standing up, grabbing all the bloody swabs I used. He scanned the room, obviously looking for a garbage bin before sighing again, not finding any.

"Where should I dump this?"

I contemplated his question, my eyes drifting to the holes scattered around the room.

"Maybe… the holes…? I don't know where they go though."

He shrugged, obviously not caring what happened to them as he emptied the load into the abyss. He turned back towards me, narrowing his icy eyes, "You twisted your ankle, right?"

I nodded, looking away from him, "Yeah… I should probably wrap it up…"

He nodded, closing the distance between the bed and the spot where he was standing. "Off with the shoe and sock."

I complied with his command, gingerly taking off my shoe. I winced, noticing that it looked more swelled than before. I rolled down my dirty sock before I looked at my foot carefully. My ankle was obviously swollen, clearly larger than my other ankle. A slight discolouration and bruising had already begun to settle in.

I felt the bed next to me sink as Shimada-senpai leaned behind me to reach something from the medical pile.

"Put your foot in my lap… I'll wrap it up for you."

I nodded, my cheeks dusting pink as I scooted back so I place my swollen foot in his lap. He took the clips off the roll before he started to wrap my foot. He began above my ankle as an anchor, slowly wrapping it tightly down my foot. I whimpered as his fingers worked around it, feeling the uncomfortable pain radiating from it as he brushed the skin or pulled too tightly.

"I think you might've sprained it…" he muttered, finishing the job. He clipped on the clips, gently placing his large hand over my ankle.

"I think so… I don't know much about injuries though…"

"Can't say I'm a doctor either," he agreed, slowly running his fingers along the bandages.

I chose not to question his tender actions. Instead, a yawn passed through my lips, earning me a chuckle from Shimada-senpai.

"Tired, are we, little Kouhai?"

I blushed, looking away from his playful stare, "I'm sorry… It's just been a long day…”

He sighed softly, running his good hand through his scarlet locks. "I’ll agree with you there… I'm a bit light-headed myself if I’m being honest.”

"I think you were going into shock…"

"Probably…"

He got up, clearing the bed of the excess medical supplies before putting them back in the cabinets – I already began to miss his comfortable touch that weighed on my injured foot. Shimada-senpai then pushed the outside bed – with me on it – closer to the one of the inside to create a makeshift double bed.

"Shi… Shimada-senpai!"

He ignored me, picking me up and dumping me on the inner bed rather roughly, though he was careful enough not to jostle my ankle too badly. He all but collapsed into the bed next to me, suddenly looking much more tired than before.

"Let's just sleep here for a while… I'm too tired to look for a way out at the moment…" he mumbled, almost looking at me pleadingly.

I blinked, nodding uncertainly, "Of course…"

He smiled gently, which shocked me. His arms suddenly snaked their way around my figure, pulling me into his chest.

I froze against him, blushing harder than I have all day, "Senpai!" I squeaked.

I heard him chuckle. It was a deep rumbling that erupted from deep inside his chest, vibrating into me. It sent warm shivers throughout my body, the butterflies in my stomach attacking me once more.

"See? I'm doing this to keep us warm," he smirked, mistaking my trembling for shivers of being cold.

There’s… no way that this is Shimada-senpai teasing me… right? In such a flirtatious manner? No… I… I must be thinking too much into it…

Shimada-senpai must have noticed my distraught expression as he blew air into my face. "Just sleep, Kouhai," he grumbled hoarsely, sleep already heavy in his voice.

I nodded shakily, "Yes, Senpai…"

I forced myself to relax in his warm embrace. I inhaled deeply, breathing in the scent of his expensive cologne. It wasn't long before I managed to drift off, content in cuddling into the warm body for comfort, all the while trying to rid myself of the images of the things that had transpired earlier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2! Yay! This took me a while to almost completely rewrite from what I originally had... But I'm much happier with this. There's much more foreshadowing in this chapter, as well as characters are written much better.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the revised version of my original first post on FF.net. By now, that will be changed as well but oh well... It wasn't much more than this (less, actually, as I added over 2000 words to the first chapter)
> 
> I think this is a good story to start posting on AO3 now that I have an account, and the other revised chapters will begin to appear soon as well!
> 
> If you're curious what Aika actually looks like, head on over to this link:
> 
> http://amaranthynn.deviantart.com/art/Corpse-Party-OC-Coloured-695823825
> 
> That's the coloured version of Aika I did in SAI.


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